


Once Bitten

by E_K_Hannila



Series: Once Bitten [1]
Category: Youtube RPF
Genre: Character Turned Into Vampire, Demons, M/M, Vampires
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-07
Updated: 2018-08-11
Packaged: 2019-05-19 07:06:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 17
Words: 17,519
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14869046
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/E_K_Hannila/pseuds/E_K_Hannila
Summary: Nathan Sharp -- half siren, half vampire -- heads out for a midnight snack and ends up in over his head when he accidentally turns his victim, Matthew Patrick, into a young vampire.ATTENTIONThis is my second draft of this book -- if you have read the first, please do not complain about changes.





	1. Chapter 1

It was a cold November night at the Phantom nightclub. I sat at a booth, watching a growing argument at the bar between the bartender and a man who was standing as if he’d had a few too many.

“I told you I wanted a Manhattan, and you give me this crap!” The man poured the drink out on the bar, deliberately splashing it onto the newbie bartender’s shirt.

“I – I’ll redo it,” the bartender stammered. He was barely twenty-five, and if I remembered correctly, he had a hint of social anxiety. He did make some pretty good mai tais, though.

“You ain’t taking any more of my money,” the man said, standing up. I saw that this was about to get a little out of hand, and went to break it up just as the man grabbed the bartender’s shirt, nearly pulling him over the bar.

“What seems to be the problem?” I said.

“This dumbass can’t make a simple Manhattan,” the man said.

I turned to the bartender. “You messed up a Manhattan?” I said incredulously.

“I – I thought I did it right,” he said, his gaze locked on my fangs.

“Then mix me one,” I said. “I’ll see how you do.”

The bartender nervously made one, then gave it to me, stepping back and shifting from foot to foot. I took a sip of the drink – it was fine.

“Perfect,” I said, setting the glass down. I turned to the man. “I’ve seen you here before, and you’ve tried to pull this stunt before – claiming bad drinks to get some for free.”

“Stalker creep,” the man muttered. “Why you watching me like that?”

“Because you’ve been trouble before,” I said, “and at this point, I’m gonna have to ask you to leave. Now.”

“You can’t kick me out!” the man spluttered. “I’m a paying customer!”

“First off, you are _not_ a paying customer, you’ve got a tab of a few hundred dollars,” I said. “And second, yes, I can kick you out.  I’m the owner.”

T he man’s eyes widened incredulously, then he staggered out, growling curses to himself. 

“S-sorry for all that,” the bartender said, turning to me.

“It wasn’t your fault, kid,” I said, putting a hand on his shoulder. “Why don’t you take a break? I’ve been meaning to practice mixing drinks, I’ll take over for a bit.”

“Thanks,” the kid said, practically running to the back room. I took his place, rolling up my sleeves and buttoning the cuffs at my elbows. I was all too happy to show off my new tattoos; I’d just gotten a raven inked on my forearm a couple days ago. 

A  man with brown eyes and hair walked in, sitting down. “Just a beer, please,” he said. 

“Brand?” I said, toweling off a glass.

“Coors,” the man said. “In a bottle.”

“Anything else?”

“Do you have any chips?” the man said.

“No, I don’t think so,” I said. “Last I checked, we were just about out.” 

“Well, okay,” the man said. “I guess I can go without.”

I slid the glass bottle across the bar towards him. “Enjoy,” I said, going back to work cleaning glasses.

“What’s your name?” the man said.

“Me? Nathan,” I said. “Nathan Sharp. You?”

“Matthew Patrick,” the man said. “Nathan Sharp’s a cool name.”

“Chose it myself.” I set down the last glass, heading back to him. “What about you?”

“I got my name from my parents, just like everyone else,” Matthew said, his brow furrowing slightly. “Wait. If you chose Nathan Sharp, then what’s your real name?” 

“That is my real name,” I said. “Legal and everything, though I had it changed when I was nine. You wouldn’t be able to pronounce the one my mother gave me. She was always into exotic names and such, I never really liked it.”

“Huh.”

“So where you from, Matthew?” I said. “I haven’t seen you here before, and people usually don’t come in on their own.”

“I was bored, looking for a quiet drink, and this place looked as good as any,” Matt said. “The Phantom nightclub. I liked the name and decided to check it out.”

I glanced up at him, looking over him. He looked… natural? I guess that would be the correct description – most of us can passably look like humans, but he had a look to him that told me he wasn’t hiding anything. And at the same time, he wasn’t quite right – he had the look about him of someone who was currently in a human shape, but had gotten so comfortable in it that they hadn’t shifted back in ages. Maybe he was a lost soul; Mark had told me about them when I was younger.

“This place isn’t the kind that you can just walk into,” I said. “You’ve gotta know it’s here, know what to look for.”

“It looked pretty obvious to me,” Matt said. “Double doors, with a dragon wing on one and an angel wing on the other, etched into the glass. Cool design, if you ask me.”

_Do I need to fix the shielding charm?_ “Matt, do me a favor,” I said, resting the heels of my hands on the bar. “Look around and tell me what you see.”  I did the same, taking a silent head count: five ice demons, two electric, a handful of symbionts (it’s hard to count them, constantly fusing and splitting), a dozen indeterminate demons – likely some of the less differentiated emotional ones, instead of the powerful elementals – and a flesh golem who was frankly shocking to look at. Seeing the last one, I decided I wouldn’t have to ask Matt what he saw; his reaction to that one alone would confirm either way. 

“I – I don’t know what I’m supposed to be looking at,” Matt said. “There’s, what, twenty, twenty-five people here? Am I missing something?”

_You have no fuckin’ idea._ “No, it’s fine.” I started wiping off a pristine glass, hoping to end the conversation. 

“I think I’m gonna get going,” Matt said, setting a five-dollar bill on the counter.

“Come back tomorrow,” I said in a sing-song tone. That’d lure him back – if he was human, like I thought, he wouldn’t even know how to resist it.

He headed out the door, looking back over his shoulder as he left. I watched him go silently.

_You, dear sir, are a mystery,_ I thought,  _one that I am eager to solve._

I stood there for several minutes, lost in thought, then picked up the beer bottle, taking a whiff of it.  _There you are._ I wasn’t nearly as good a tracker as Jack, but I could manage with something as strong as alcohol. 

With that scent locked into my mind, I set out. I was going to find Matt and figure out what exactly he was.


	2. Chapter 2

The scent quickly became difficult to follow, since Matt wasn’t the only drinker out tonight. But just as it faded into the miasma altogether, I no longer had to follow it – I could see him off in the distance, under a flickering streetlight. He was pacing anxiously, constantly moving – he was scared. He could very well be a lost soul – someone who’s been in human form so long, he thinks he is one. That would account for his discomfort in the bar; he would have a feeling of what we all were, though he wouldn’t be able to explain what he sensed.

I walked just within earshot of him. “Hey, Matthew,” I called, raising one hand. He just about jumped a foot in the air, his head whipping around as he heard me.

I came closer, making my way towards him. “I wanted to talk to you more,” I said.

“What was I supposed to see back there?” Matt said. “Some sort of satanic rituals? Holograms?”

“A little of both, actually,” I said. “A shielding charm. In Phantom, you only see what you’re expecting. If you know what’s going on there, you see it for what it is; if you just wander in off the street, like you said you did, then all you’d see is a regular bar.”

“So what wasn’t I seeing?” Matt said.

I smiled as nonthreateningly as I could. “Well, if you’ll come closer, you can see for yourself.”

“Yeah, like I’m gonna do that,” Matt said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. “For all I know, you’re just trying to kill me or kidnap me.”

“I swear, I’m not,” I said. “If I was, then I could’ve just done it back at the club, where there were fewer witnesses and less room to run.”

Matt slowly walked towards me, never leaving the safety of the streetlight. “What am I supposed to see?” he asked. “You look normal.”

“Look closer,” I said, the glamour fading from me. Matt’s eyes widened when he saw me for what I really was – shiny skin, almost like fish scales; softly glowing violet eyes with no definite sclera or pupil; razor-sharp canine teeth, thanks to the vampire side of me; and dark lines on my neck, the remnants of the gills I’d have in water.

Matt opened his mouth to scream, and I darted over, covering his mouth with one hand. “No need for that, do you wanna get me killed?” I said.

“Yes!” he shouted, his voice muffled by my hand. I winced, hearing the cry bounce off the brick walls of the alley. _Damn, he’s loud._

“Look, man, if you don’t keep quiet, I will shut you up,” I whispered. “This is not how I wanted this meeting to go, okay? I wanted to – ow!” I pulled my hand away sharply as Matt bit my finger.

“Let me go!” Matt scooted backwards, shaking and staring at me. “What are you, some kind of vampire?”

“No… not completely,” I said. “Half vampire. Is that good enough for you?”

Matt was silent, panting, then rubbed his forehead with his sleeve. “Just… just go,” he said. “I do not wanna deal with this nightmare right now. I’m going to wake up, and I do not want you to be the last thing I see before I do, because that never goes well.”

He squeezed his eyes shut, kicking his heel against the asphalt, then opened them again. “Damn.”

“You’re not gonna be happy to hear this, but this isn’t a dream,” I said.

“No, it has to be,” Matt said, his voice shaking. “I had half a beer. That isn’t even enough to make my stomach hurt. I am _fine._ And here I am, talking to a… what even are you?” 

“Siren,” I said. “Do you… would you be more comfortable if I shifted back?”

“Yes, very.” Matt nodded rapidly.

I switched back to my human form, feeling my fangs retract as I did, and sat up straighter, resting my arms on my knees. I picked up a pebble, tossing it at Matt to get his attention.

“Did you shift yet?” he said, his eyes still closed.

“Yeah, I’m back to your normal,” I said. “Kinda my normal, too, I spend more time in this form than the other.”

“No fangs?” Matt said.

“They’re still there, just invisible,” I lied.

“So if I were to call for help, you’d be at a disadvantage?”

“This isn’t a video game, I don’t have a set number of shifts per day,” I said.

“Worth a shot,” Matt said. I realized a second early what he was going to do.

I shifted back, lunging at him with all the grace of a beached whale, and pinned him down,  slamming my hand over his mouth hard enough to crack a tooth. His panicked cries were barely muffled, and I could hear people running towards the alley from a block or two away. 

_Dammit, I’m sorry, Matt,_ I thought, pulling down the collar of his jacket. I brushed my fingers over his neck, looking for the veins and nerves to avoid, then bit down. Matt gasped, his eyes rolling back, and went limp, falling to the ground. I caught him before his head hit the pavement, then picked him up, pulling up the collar of his jacket to hide the bite mark. 

I dug through his pockets, taking his wallet out to check his address.  _Great, walking distance. I can get him home._

I pulled Matt’s arm over my shoulder, lugging him to his house, then knelt at the door, picking the lock deftly. I carried him inside, dropping him on the couch and checking to make sure the bite on his neck wasn’t too serious. The two punctures were fairly shallow, with barely any bleeding. He’d be fine.

I found a notepad and pen, writing down my number, then ran home. _Please don’t let Jack smell blood on me._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So close to 1000 words...


	3. Chapter 3

“Where were you?”

I shut the door, turning around and coming face to face with Jack. His teeth were bared slightly, his translucent fangs on display in the dim light.

“I was at Phantom,” I said. “I told you that ten minutes before I left.”

“I wasn’t listening,” Jack said, following me to the living room. “Why do you smell like human?”

“Because I met a guy at the bar,” I said matter-of-factly.

“And ate him?”

_Dammit._ “No, I did not eat him,” I said as calmly as I could. “I’m not the man-eater, you are.” 

“Blood, everything else, same difference,” Jack said, kneeling on the couch next to me. “So. Was he hot?” 

I felt a smile creep across my face. “Yeah. He was kinda cute.”

“Got his address?”

I pushed Jack off the couch. “No!” I laughed.

“Email?” came a giggling voice from the floor.

“No.”

“Phone number?”

“No.”

“Shoe size?”

I burst out laughing. “ What the fuck is wrong with you!” 

“A lot,” Jack said, jumping back up onto the back of the couch and lying on his stomach, just barely balanced. “You planning to meet with him again?”

“Hopefully not,” I said. “Where’s Mark?”

“In his study,” Jack said. “Wanna play Scrabble?”

“Maybe later,” I said, getting up. “Right now I’ve gotta go get something figured out.”

\-----

I knocked at the door to Mark’s study. “Can I come in?” I said.

“Of course,” Mark said, his deep voice muffled by the heavy wood door. I went inside, sitting down in one of the red leather chairs. 

Mark set down his book, looking up at me. “How has your night been, Nate?”

“Pretty crazy,” I said. “I had to break up a bar fight.”

“Are you hurt?” Mark said. 

“No… actually, I came to talk to you about something else,” I said, fidgeting a little. “Remember when I was little and would spend days in human form, and you’d tell me stories about lost souls to scare me into switching back?” 

“Yes,” Mark said.

“Well, I… I think I met one,” I said. “A lost soul. I was at the bar, and this guy comes in and sits down. As far as I could tell, he was human, but that means he shouldn’t have been able to get in.” 

“Maybe he just had a very refined glamour,” Mark said.

“No, he looked, sounded, smelled human,” I said, realizing too late what I’d just revealed.

Mark raised an eyebrow. “Smelled?”

“I – That came out wrong,” I said, my face getting hot.

Mark sighed, putting his arms on the table. “Nathan, I’m going to ask one question, and I want you to answer honestly and fully,” he said quietly. “How do you know what this man smells like?”

“B-because I went to talk to him after he left,” I stammered, leaning back in my chair as far as I possibly could. “He knew there was something up and wanted me to explain. I dropped my glamour; he ran; I caught him. I couldn’t let him tell anyone about the club, so I… I knocked him out.”

“And?” Mark leaned forward, resting his elbows on the desk. “I’ve seen you and Jack fight, I know you can’t hit someone hard enough to knock them out. You’d need to use your venom.”

I nodded silently, looking down at the floor.

“Please tell me you didn’t bite him.”

I glanced up at him, nodding again. “ I had to shut him up  _somehow_ !” 

Mark rubbed his forehead, sighing with frustration. “Is he alive?”

“Last I saw him, yes,” I said. “He wasn’t bleeding too badly, and I avoided all the important stuff.”

“Here’s what you’re gonna do,” Mark said. “You’re going to stay here, and I’m going to go explain to him what happened and convince him to keep quiet about our existence.”

“What if he doesn’t cooperate?”

“I’ll deal with him, then,” Mark said, his fingers glowing orange like hot metal. We both knew what he meant by the gesture; fire demons are the masters of erasing evidence of any kind. 

\-----

Mark left a few minutes later, putting on his coat as he walked out the door, and I flopped down on the couch next to Jack, who was currently shoveling mint ice cream into his mouth with his fingers.

_Okay, that’s his ice cream now._

Jack noticed I was watching him eat. “Want some?” he said, holding out the half-empty carton of ice cream.

“No, thanks,” I said, waving it away. “I’m – I’m good.”

“So what did you and Mark talk about?” Jack said.

“The guy I met,” I replied. “Mark is gonna go talk to him, see what he knows, and convince him to keep quiet and leave us alone.” 

“Y’know, I just don’t get it,” Jack said. “What’s his deal with us being with humans?”

“Well, for one thing, he’s aware that any human you meet is gonna end up as a meal sooner or later,” I said. “And second, this guy was not a casual fling. He knows what I am, and he’s scared enough to tell people.”

“So, let me at him,” Jack said. “Judging by his smell on you –” 

“No.” I raised one hand. “Just no. Don’t – don’t even continue with that sentence.” 

“Fine,” Jack muttered, folding his arms over his chest and smearing melted ice cream all over his shirt – not that there wasn’t enough there already. “You never let me have any fun.” 

H e tapped his foot slowly, then turned to me. “You wanna play Scrabble now?” 

“Sure,” I said. “Where’d you put the board again?”

Jack jumped up, running to his room, and came back with a beat-up cardboard box.  He dumped the wooden tiles out onto the coffee table, then sat down, setting out the board and the racks. I sat across from him, taking my tiles. 

“Dammit,” I heard him mutter. He must not have gotten a good set.

\-----

About twenty minutes into the game, we’d gotten about two dozen words on the board. Jack had paused the game briefly to chase a fly, incinerating it with a neon green spark after a good five minutes of following it around the house.

_I swear, he is a cat._

I got up to get my phone, which had been ringing for the last minute and a half. “Hello?”

“ _Get your ass over here,”_ Mark growled, with faint whimpering in the background. _“Now.”_


	4. Chapter 4

“Jack, I’ve gotta get going,” I said.

“But what about the game?” Jack said, pointing half-heartedly to the Scrabble board on the coffee table.

“Take a photo of where we left off, we can keep going some other time,” I said, grabbing my car keys off the table by the door and running outside. I didn’t bother putting on a glamour, unable to focus on anything other than what Mark might have done to Matt. If that kid got hurt –

_Wait. What am I thinking? Why do I give a shit about the guy?_ I shook my head, forcing the thoughts out, and got in the car, driving to Matt’s house.

 -----

I parked alongside the curb, racing up the steps and into the house. Mark was waiting for me, his eyes glowing a deep copper red.

“What’s going on?” I said.

“See for yourself,” Mark said, stepping aside and extending one arm towards the bedroom. I tentatively walked in, shocked at what I saw.

Matt was curled up in a heap of torn bedsheets, rocking and sobbing, with scratches all over his arms and a few droplets of blood staining his sweat-soaked clothes. When he saw me, he froze, staring at me with a mix of fury and terror.

“What did you do to me?” he said, his voice hoarse, as he sat up.

“I –” I looked back towards Mark, but he was silent.

I walked over to Matt, reaching towards him slowly. He backed away, baring bloodstained teeth – did he bite himself, is that what the scratches are from?

“It’s okay,” I said. “I’m not gonna hurt you.” I hesitantly sat down on the bed, glancing between Mark and Matt.

“What did you do to me?” Matt repeated, his voice softer, and more panicked than angry.

“I – I really don’t know.” I looked back at Mark, but he still said nothing, keeping watch from the doorway.

Matt grabbed my arm, and I resisted the urge to pull away as he pressed his nose into the back of my hand, inhaling deeply. His eyes never left mine, the soft chocolate brown of his irises brightening to a rich gold.

_This can’t be happening,_ I told myself. _He’s acting like I turned him, but that’s impossible. I’m only half a vampire, and he never drank my blood – I barely even tasted his._

Without warning, the smell of blood hit me – the rich iron tang, the slight saltiness, the sweet aftertaste. I blinked, licking my lips reflexively.

All at once, right after the first impulse, a cascade of feeling hit me – fear, attraction, anger, confusion, with a terrible hunger over all of it, overwhelming me so intensely my stomach ached.

I pulled my hand away, standing up sharply, and looked at Mark.

“What is it?” Mark said, a touch of concern in his voice. “Did he hurt you?”

“I need to talk to you,” I said, my body still humming from the jolt. “In private.”

 -----

“I think I turned him,” I said once Mark and I were out of Matt’s hearing.

“Did it really take you this long to figure that out?” Mark said.

“But – I mean – how!?” I paced back and forth in front of the couch, drumming my fingers on my hip nervously. “I barely broke the skin!”

“I feel like we’ve already had this talk,” Mark said under his breath.

“I – I can’t deal with a new vamp,” I said.

“You’ve gotta own up to this,” Mark said. “Do you really want him to end up like Cristina?”

“You don’t say a word about her,” I hissed, jabbing his chest with a finger.

“I won’t,” Mark said. “But if you leave him here alone, the process is going to go just as badly as it did for her.”

I looked back towards the door. Matt was shaking, his fangs fully extended and grazing his forearm. Tear tracks ran down his face, mingling with the sweat that soaked him.

_He’s in so much pain._

I went to the bed, sitting down and putting a hand on his back. His skin was burning hot, the heat radiating like a stovetop.

“Matt?” I said softly, feeling psychic tendrils wend their way across to me as I rubbed his back. “Can you hear me?”

“Nate, p-please,” Matt whimpered, pressing his nose into my shoulder. He started to rub his nose against my neck, and I pushed him away – he was instinctively searching for my jugular, to bite down and drink.

“Not there,” I said quietly, placing one hand on the back of his head and moving my other arm to his lips. He took a deep breath, lightly licking at my wrist, and I braced myself for the bite – it was his first time, so this was gonna be messy.

He bit my wrist, twice, nearly taking out a chunk of flesh as he shifted his teeth. I grit my teeth, fighting the urge to pull away – _he needs this, I’ll be fine_ – and let him drink his fill. My arm started to feel weird, but the sensation wasn’t more than uncomfortable.

Matt slowly pulled his fangs out, leaving two ragged holes in my forearm, and fell back against the bed, the color returning to his skin somewhat.

“Just wait here a second,” I said, getting up. I ran to the bathroom, grabbing a roll of bandages, and came back even before using them. I didn’t want to leave Matt along any longer than I needed to.

I sat back down next to him, wrapping my arm tightly and taping the bandage in place. Matt’s bright amber eyes were locked on me, but he didn’t seem to be on the attack; rather, he was curious and frightened, and above all exhausted.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered, his lips stained crimson. He reached toward me, lifting one arm weakly off the bed, and I took his hand, lying down next to him.

“Do you want me to stay?” I asked quietly. Matt nodded, wriggling closer and pulling the blankets up. I pushed my shoes off, dropping them over the edge of the bed, and put my arms around him, closing my eyes as he snuggled into my chest. In just seconds, Matt was fast asleep. I followed soon after.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guys, I'm sorry about hinting something bad for Cristina. I don't hate her, I swear, I just don't know how to write her into the story, and I wanted to account for her somehow.


	5. Chapter 5

I woke before Matt. Sunlight was just making its way through the blinds; I closed them.

“Suit yourself, then.”

I glanced around the dimly lit room, my gaze settling on a familiar green-tinged shadow in the corner.

“What do you want, Jack?” I grumbled, sitting on the floor across the room from him. “And how did you find us?”

“I have my ways,” Jack said, flowing across the room and materializing inches away from Matt. He leaned down, running a pointed fingernail around the curve of Matt’s ear, and Matt shifted a little, mumbling in his sleep.

“Don’t wake him,” I said, going over to pull him away from Matt. “He needs his sleep.”

“How is he doing?” Jack said, drifting around the room idly. He never could sit still for long than he needed to.

“He’s likely in a lot of pain, and hungry,” I said. “I’m doing the best I can to help him, but I’m just as clueless as he is.”

“No, you’re not,” Jack said. “You’ve been a vampire most of your life. You know how to tell the difference between a human and a glamoured demon; how to kill prey efficiently; hell, you can even tell the difference between hunger and bloodlust.” Jack shrugged. “Even I don’t know that one.”

“I know,” I muttered. “But those aren’t things you can teach. I can’t point out specific differences between humans and glamours; I just know them when I see them. And even if I could, maybe he won’t want to learn.”

“He’s not a feral,” Jack said, touching a finger lightly to Matt’s temple. “He wants to be human. He’ll be desperate to pass for one, so whatever you can teach him is going to be more than welcome.”

“But see, I _can’t_ ,” I said, almost pleadingly. “I _don’t_ try and pass for human, not in the long-term. I can glamour, and that’s about it.” 

“If you need me to, I can help,” Jack said.

“No, I have a feeling your help will be less than useful,” I said. 

Jack shrugged. “Your choice. Gotta go now, he’s waking up.”

He disappeared in a dim green flash, and I settled down next to Matt, seeing him stir slightly. He yawned, showing an impressive set of fangs, and slowly opened his eyes.

“Thank you for staying,” he said softly, snuggling into my side. I tousled his hair, smiling – for a grown man at least my age, he seemed so childlike. But then again, most new turns do, from what I’d read.

“I’m not leaving you in this state,” I said. “Now, is there anything you need? Some water, maybe chips or bacon?”

“Some more… uh…” He pawed at my wrist hesitantly, clearly uncomfortable asking for blood.

“Sure, but not from me,” I said. “I can’t be your personal blood bank forever. I’ll call up Mark and see if he can bring some sheep blood over.”

“Where would he get sheep’s blood?” Matt asked anxiously as I went to get the phone.

“From a friend, Andrew,” I replied, tapping Mark’s number into the keypad. “He has a sheep farm. The meat goes to market, and the blood comes to us.” 

“Oh.” Matt stood up shakily, coming over and hanging on my shoulder as I waited for Mark to pick up.

“ _What is it? Is the new turn all right?”_

“Yeah, he’s fine, just hungry,” I replied. “You think you could bring, oh, two gallons over? Maybe three, I don’t know how much he’ll eat.” 

“ _I’m busy at the moment, but I’ll send Jack,”_ Mark said. 

“Great. Thanks, Mark,” I said before hanging up. 

“Is he coming?” Matt said.

“No, but my stepbrother Jack is,” I said. “Don’t worry, he’s a nice kid. He’ll probably just lie on the ceiling for a while and go home.”

Matt’s eyes widened at my mention of Jack’s little gravity-defying party trick, and I chuckled, patting him on the back. “Come on, let’s go find you some decent clothes.”

“Can you pick something out?” Matt asked. “I need to shower.”

“Sure.” Matt nodded, heading off to the bathroom, and I looked through his dresser in increasing dismay. _Is this all he has? T-shirts and jeans? Does he even know the word ‘fashion’?_ I eventually settled on a pair of Levi’s and a plaid shirt with elbow-length sleeves – he’d look good in plaid. 

I laid out the outfit on the bed, then reconsidered – the sheets were soaked with sweat and a few small bloodstains from his first meal last night. I set the clothes on top of the dresser, changed the sheets,  _then_ put them on display.  _Better._

Satisfied with my decision, I went out to the living room, settling down on the couch with a book. Something called “The Twisted Ones”. I dropped it after just a few pages – it was damn near unreadable, it was so bad.  _Why would Matt read something this poorly written?_

After about fifteen minutes, the water in the bathroom shut off, and Matt came out with a towel wrapped around his waist.

“Um… this isn’t awkward for you, is it?” he said.

I shrugged. “Why should it be?”

“Well, cause we’re both guys…”

“Hey, you don’t know which team I play,” I said with a laugh. _Or that I’ll play any team good enough…_

Matt didn’t respond except to nod awkwardly and scurry off to his room, towel held tightly. I smiled to myself, sauntering to the kitchen to see if he had any mugs.

“Hey!” A knock at the door made me nearly drop a Winnie the Pooh mug. “Open up for the king of crazy!”

“Who’s that?” Matt said, opening the bedroom door and peering out. He had one arm into his button-up shirt, and his belt was unbuckled, but he was otherwise clothed.

“It’s Jack,” I said.

“Your brother?” Matt asked incredulously.

“ _Step_ -brother,” I said. “Mark adopted him long after his behavior was set.” 

“Ah.” Matt continued getting dressed while I went to the door. Sure enough, Jack was standing outside, a milk crate on the sidewalk next to him. He’d decided on a full glamour, appearing to be an average, albeit skinny, young man with light brown hair and striking blue eyes. (Why he went with blue instead of their natural green, I’ll never know.)


	6. Chapter 6

“Hey, Jack,” I said, opening the door. Jack picked up the milk crate, darting inside and setting it on the counter.

“So where’s the newbie?” he asked, setting off to look for Matt.

“Getting dressed,” I said, putting a hand on his shoulder to stop him.

“Can I meet him?” Jack said, shifting from foot to foot excitedly.

“Settle down, don’t wanna give him a heart attack,” I said.

Jack harrumphed, his skin flashing green along his unseen channel lines, and sat down on the couch with his arms folded over his chest.

Matt came out of his room a few moments later, still a little wary. “Where’s lunch?” he said.

“Over on the counter,” I replied, keeping a hand firmly on Jack’s shoulder to keep him from tackling Matt. Matt went to the kitchen counter, opening one of the bottles and sniffing it.

“Hi, Matt,” Jack said, struggling not to shriek like he usually did when he was excited. He looked up at me pleadingly, and I sighed, letting him go. Jack ran over to Matt, putting out one hand to shake. Matt shook his hand tentatively, wiping his hand on his shirt afterwards.

“Uh, hi, Jack,” Matt said hesitantly. “How’s your day been so far?”

“Day? I’m nocturnal,” Jack said with a smirk. “But it’s been fine. I found a nice meal earlier –”

“I think that’s enough.” I cut him off quickly before he could explain exactly what his meals were. Uh, Jack, is there anything else you needed before you went home?”

“I wanna talk with Matt,” Jack said, throwing a skinny arm around Matt’s shoulders. “You know, figure out what his tastes are, his attack style, then – I don’t know – take him on a hunt or something.”

“Jack!” I barked. “We are _not_ taking him on a hunt!”

“Aww… but it would be so much fun,” Jack whined.

Matt stared at Jack for a few seconds, in shock, then shook his head tensely, wobbling off to his room.

“Jack, what is your deal right now?” I said, marching the little chaos demon over to the couch.

“He’s gonna have to learn sometime, why not now?” Jack asked with a shrug.

“Why… not… now?” I felt my skin crackle as my aura flickered, and the tips of my fangs pricked my lower lip as I growled under my breath. “He has been a vampire for all of fourteen hours. He needs more time.”

“How soon was your first meal?” Jack said.

“A few minutes after I turned,” I said, sitting down. “I… I didn’t enjoy it. I hated myself afterward.” _I still do._

“He’s not gonna complete his turn until he has human blood,” Jack said. “He’s gonna be tired, and sick, and soon he’ll be in pain. Are you really gonna put him through that just because you got squeamish?”

I sighed. “No. I’ll talk to Matt, and you talk to Mark, and if everything goes well, we’ll go on a trip – NOT explicitly a hunt, got that?”

“But if he sees someone he likes…” Jack smiled.

I bit my lip, thinking. “If he sees someone he likes, then you go kill them, and I’ll distract him so he doesn’t see the way you do it.”

 -----

“Hey, Matt,” I said, sitting next to him and putting an arm around his shoulders. “Sorry about what Jack said.”

“All that stuff about hunting, my attack, my ‘tastes’, what did he mean by that?” Matt asked, his voice soft.

“Well, there’s something you should know about Jack,” I said. “He’s not a vampire like me – like us. He’s a chaos demon, so by human standards, and even most demon standards, he’s not all there. He’s, uh… he’s what you’d call a man-eater.”

Matt looked up sharply, his eyes wide. “He eats… people?”

“Not on a regular basis,” I said quickly. “In all the time I’ve known him – a little over 15 years – he’s only killed _maybe_ 40 people.”

“Only!” Matt jumped up, scooting away.

“Matt, you can’t apply human standards to demon society,” I said. “Hard as it may be to hear, that’s actually lower than average for chaos demons.”

“I don’t care!”

“Matt, settle down,” I said firmly, putting a hand on his arm. “There is a very important reason why Jack was telling you about this.”

“Yeah, because he wants to turn me into a _freak_ like him!” Matt flung an arm out, pointing in the direction of the living room, where Jack was sitting and talking on the phone.

“Matt. There is no such thing as a vegan vampire,” I said, slowly sitting him back down. “That’s just reality. You’re going to need human blood every once in a while, and you’re going to need it now. Yesterday, when you were biting all over yourself, that was because the vampire side of you knew what you needed.”

Matt’s expression slowly shifted from angry to horrified to desperate, and his shoulders slumped as he fell against me, holding onto my arm tight. “I… I don’t wanna kill anyone,” he whimpered,

“I know,” I said quietly, running my fingers through his hair. “You won’t have to.”

“But –”

“You won’t be the one killing,” I said. “Jack will do it. And I’ll make sure he doesn’t cause unnecessary pain. All you have to do is decide who looks like a good meal.”

“What if I don’t?” Matt said.

“It’s not gonna be fun, let’s just leave it at that,” I said. “So. You up for a trip?”

Matt nodded shakily, sitting up. “Yeah. I think so.”

 -----

Jack bounced one leg incessantly as he spoke with Mark.

“Yeah, I’ll keep an eye on him,” he said.

“ _Is Nathan going with you?”_ Mark asked. _“He’d better be.”_

“Yeah, he’s coming along,” Jack replied. “He’s not letting the newbie out of his sight. Think he’s in love or some mush like that.”

“ _I wouldn’t be surprised,”_ Mark said. _“After all, he is Matthew’s sire. Keep an eye on them for me, make sure they don’t… run off.”_

“Well, why can’t you come?” Jack asked. “Make it a party, you know.”

“ _I’ve got other things I need to do,”_ Mark said.

“What would these other things be?”

Click.

Jack stared down at the phone in his hand, a scowl forming as he silently cussed out his adopted father. _Don’t you hang up on me._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I just figured out how to do more formatting in text. Yes, it's taken me this long. I'll be going through the other chapters, fixing them too.


	7. Chapter 7

Jack walked in, practically skipping. “So. You got everything worked out?”

“A _short_ trip will be okay,” I said, looking to Matt for confirmation. He nodded.

“Is there any particular hun– any particular place you wanna go?” Jack said. “Cause I know this nice little campsite – there’s almost always people there. Mostly ghost hunters and some such, researching the ‘disappearances’. We don’t complain – the more people we take, the stronger their myths get, so it’s a self-sustaining system.”

Matt gagged, but nodded. “Y-Yeah, that sounds good. How far is it?”

Jack smiled, giving me a look. “Wanna go the fun way?”

“Jack –”

“Oh, come on, it’ll be great,” Jack said, neon sparks shooting under his skin as he charged up. “Don’t you love it?”

“I like it, but he’s gonna freak,” I said, gesturing to Matt, who was currently figuring out which mug he wanted to use for the blood Jack had brought.

“Then I’ll make it a slower trip,” Jack said. “Maybe twenty seconds, instead of ten. Is that good enough for you?”

“You just really wanna teleport, don’t you?” I said. Jack nodded rapidly, grinning.

“Please?” he whined, practically hopping in place. “I haven’t gotten to do a really big teleport in weeks!”

“Fine,” I said. “Just take it slow. Hey, Matt?”

Matt looked up from his snack. “Yes?”

“We’re gonna get going in a minute,” I said. “Finish up your lunch and let’s go.”

Matt drank the last bit of blood in his mug, then came over. “Do you have a car?”

“Don’t need one,” Jack said with a wry grin. The sparks scattered across his skin collected along the channel lines, and a green aura formed around the three of us.

“It’s fine, this is normal,” I said reassuringly, seeing Matt’s frightened expression. I put my arms around his shoulders as he huddled into my chest, shielding his eyes from the intense emerald light.

 -----

And then we were there.

The light faded, and Matt straightened up, looking around. “Where are we?”

“Somewhere in Japan,” Jack said, smoothing back his hair. “The campsite is about a quarter mile away.”

“Why didn’t we go straight to it?” Matt asked, still looking up at the stars. “I don’t wanna walk all that way.”

“Because if there’s anyone there already, they’d see us teleport in,” I said. “You didn’t see it, but the landing is really, really bright. This is pretty much the closest we can safely get.”

Jack shook off the last bits of energy like a dog shaking off water, a green light bursting off of him. “There,” he said. “That should do it. Now, let’s see if we can’t find you a meal, eh?” He put one hand on Matt’s shoulder, marching down the trail with him in tow. I followed, sighing.

 -----

The three of us stopped just out of earshot of a group of tourists. There were about a half dozen of them, sitting around a fire and making all sorts of noise. Jack visibly cringed as one of them threw a soda bottle into the fire, his ears turning back at the gunshot-like pops.

“I say we go after that fucker,” he snarled, pointing at the man who’d thrown the bottle.

“What do you think, Matt?” I asked, turning to the man next to me. “See anyone you like?”

He bit his lip, clearly uncomfortable. “Um… m-maybe him.” He pointed to a muscular man with a beer and several empty glass bottles by his chair. “D-do you think you can handle him?”

“I’ve seen Jack take down grizzlies,” I said, pointing the man out for Jack. “He’s got this.”

Jack shimmered as he gave himself a glamour, appearing to be no more than an unusually tall child with torn, dirty clothes. He shuffled through the bushes toward the group, making plenty of noise as he did.

_Now to distract Matt._ “Hey, uh, you wanna go and take a look around?” I said. “There’s a stream somewhere around here, if you wanna go for a swim.”

“Well, I wouldn’t want to get my clothes wet,” Matt said.

“Then I guess I can swim alone,” I said, heading off after the roar of rushing water. Matt ran after me, his footsteps crunching in the brush.

I stopped at the edge of a dirt cliff above a shallow creek. Matt skidded to a halt just a few feet away, nearly falling over the edge.

“You’re not gonna dive, are you?” he said, looking down to the ground far below. “You’ll break your neck or something.”

“Nah, I’ll be fine,” I said. “You won’t be, though. It’s easy to climb down if you start there.” I pointed to a stump a few yards away just before leaping off the edge into the creek.

I plunged into the ice-cold water, squeezing my eyes shut at the strange prickling of my gills opening. I dropped my glamour, swimming upstream as easily as if I was walking.

Matt was sitting on a rock at the edge of the water with his shoes on the ground next to him, dangling his bare feet in the water. I lazily drifted towards him, surfacing as I drew near.

He jumped when he saw me, pressing a hand to his chest as he stood up. “I’m not gonna get used to seeing you like that, am I?” he said, panting and sitting back down.

“You will eventually,” I said, the words garbled by my fangs and the stronger enchantment in my voice. I sat down in the water, submerged up to my eyes.

Matt stared down at me, his brow furrowed. “Can you… not… do that?”

“Why not?” I bubbled.

“Because I get the feeling that I’m about to be eaten.”

I giggled, sending a few bubbles to the surface. _Oops, that’s the last bit of air. Can’t talk for a little while._

I ducked down below the surface, humming to myself. _I wonder if Matt can hear my thoughts. Sometimes a vampire and their sire can have a telepathic bond for a little while._

I was interrupted by a splash. I surfaced, spitting out water and clearing my lungs, and looked around as I shed the water clinging to my clothes and hair.

Jack jumped down, hauling something out of the water. It was the man from the tourist group, unconscious – but possibly not dead.

“Dinnertime,” Jack said, lugging him over to the two of us. “Eat up, before he gets cold.”

Matt knelt next to the hulking figure, clearly uncomfortable. “Are you sure?” he said, his hands shaking.

“He’s dead, he won’t feel it,” I said with a nod. Half a lie – he might be alive, but after a mauling from Jack, he wasn’t gonna wake up anytime soon.

Matt nodded, slowly leaning down. His whole body twitched as he bit down on the man’s shoulder, and I could see in his expression… fear? Anger?

No.

Sadness. Sadness and shock.

The man was alive. And Matt could tell.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, in this chapter I reveal the whole story of what happened to Cristina (you may remember that I mentioned her in Chapter 4). Please don't hate me...

He pulled away after the meal, panting. His fangs retracted, and his eyes briefly flashed gold before returning to their original brown. The sickly tinge in his skin had disappeared, and he seemed to sit up straighter. The blood had done its work.

“You want any?” Jack asked me, oblivious to Matt’s horror. “Cause if not –”

“Go ahead,” I said, shooing him away and moving over next to Matt. Jack shrugged, carrying the corpse away – likely to eat it, but, hey, that’s just what he does.

“I’m so sorry, Matt,” I said softly, rubbing his back.

“You said he was dead,” Matt stammered, nearly in tears.

“I thought he was.” I sighed, hugging him.

“W-what’s Jack gonna do?” Matt said, looking in the direction of some concerning noises.

“Don’t worry about that,” I said. “Is… is there anything I can do to help?”

Matt shook his head. “I need to wash off.”

He walked over into the creek, washing the blood off his face and neck. Red trails flowed downstream, carrying the savory scent with it.

I knelt by his side, rubbing his back. “You’re gonna be okay now,” I said reassuringly. “You won’t have to hurt anyone ever again.”

“Why did I have to at all?” Matt asked, his voice cracking. “He was alive, Nate. I killed him.”

“You didn’t kill him,” I replied. “Jack did. And like it or not, you need to have a full meal of human blood at least once, to complete the transformation.”

“So if I hadn’t, then I would have stayed human?” Matt said, looking up at me.

“That’s not quite how it works,” I said. “You would have been stuck in a painful, half-morphed state until you died. It may not have been bad this morning, but it would have gotten worse and worse. You’d have had all the negative traits of vampirism, but none of the good. Trust me, it’s horrific to see, never mind experience.”

“Did you go through it?” Matt asked, sitting up.

“No, but a… a friend did,” I said with a sigh. “Cristina. We met when we were teenagers. One night, we got way, way too drunk, and she asked me to turn her so we could be together forever. I did, but when I sobered up, I freaked out and ran away. Didn’t tell anyone, not even Jack.” I closed my eyes, pushing back the images rising to my mind. “A few weeks later, Mark calls me into his study. Tells me a girl was found with bite marks in her neck, right around the place that I hung out at a lot. He asked me if I knew anything about it. I told the truth.”

I looked down at my hands, unable to meet his eyes. “She’s dead because I fucked up. I’m not making the same mistake with you.”

Matt sat in silence, thinking. “I’m… I’m sorry. I’m sure you didn’t mean to hurt her.”

“In the moment, I was actually excited,” I said. “I had never considered any more than a one-night stand with anyone, but there was something about her that made me want to stay forever. And once I turned her, we…” My voice caught, and tears pricked at my eyes. “It doesn’t matter how I felt. She’s dead, and it’s my fault.”

Matt started to say something, but was interrupted by a crackle of bending branches as Jack came back to the stream. He sat down with us, a contented look on his face that said he’d had a good meal.

“So,” he said, stifling a belch, “we gonna go home? Hey, Matt, you’re looking better than earlier.”

“Yeah,” Matt said. “Feeling better, too.”

“Ho-kay,” Jack said. “I’m gonna take a few minutes to charge.”

“Charge?” Matt said. “What are you, a phone?”

“Be nice or I’ll zap you,” Jack said, touching a fingertip to Matt’s shoulder. A green spark jumped between them, and Matt pulled away sharply, rubbing his arm.

Jack smirked, heading off to the river and jumping in.

Once Jack was out of sight, Matt turned back towards me. “He… he ate that guy, didn’t he?” he asked, pointing in the direction of the river with a shaking hand.

“Yep,” I said, nodding. “He usually leaves the head behind – he claims it’s to be scary or to fuel mysteries, but he told me it’s actually because brain tissue tastes funny.”

Matt gagged, his eyes fluttering closed briefly. “Well, he’s – certainly scary.” He scooted closer, whispering. “Are you sure he’s not dangerous?”

“Oh, he’s absolutely dangerous,” I said, also lowering my voice. “Just not to us. He’s only ever hurt me once, and it was an accident. He was miserable for weeks.”

Matt nodded, leaning back. “So, once the transition finishes, what can I expect?” he asked. “Like, will I be able to fly, or turn into a bat?”

I chuckled, shaking my head. “Those are pure myth. A normal vampire can’t do either of those, although there are always hybrids, like myself, who can. You won’t change as much as you expect – your hair and skin won’t change color, you won’t look like a walking corpse, nothing like that. You’ll actually look more alive than most humans nowadays, as long as you have a steady intake of human blood. Which I doubt you’ll do. As it is, your appearance most likely won’t change at all, as long as you eat well.”

“So will I be able to live off of animal blood?” Matt asked.

“Well, I’ve been doing quite fine, although I’m only half-vampire,” I said. “In fact, the only human blood I’ve tasted in the last six months –” I stopped short.

“Was mine.” Matt finished my thought without missing a beat.

“Yeah.” I nodded, my voice barely audible.

We sat in an awkward silence, waiting for Jack to return.

“I, uh, I’m gonna go find Jack,” I said, standing up. “Make sure he didn’t drown or something.”

“Yeah. You go do that.”

I shuffled off towards the river, meeting Jack at the shore. He was sopping wet, his dark green hair slicked back, and stripped down to his shorts.

“You ready to go?” I said.

“Sure, just gotta dry off first so I don’t short out,” Jack replied, faint steam hissing off him as the energy channels glowed brighter. He shook off the last drops of water, pulling his shirt on. “There. Now, let’s get going.”


	9. Chapter 9

The second we got home, Matt went straight to his room, shutting the door.

“What’s he got going on?” Jack asked, flopping down in an armchair and somehow reaching the couch. His skin still buzzed with energy, making his hair stand up slightly more than usual.

“You should have made sure he was dead,” I said, keeping my voice low. “I saw the look on Matt’s face when he felt the man’s pulse, and I never want to see it again.”

“Aw, come on, a little death never hurt anyone,” Jack said. “Well, you know what I mean.”

“I’m not in the mood for jokes,” I snapped. “You promised to kill someone so Matt didn’t have to, and you never mess up a kill. So what happened?”

Jack stood up, looking me straight in the eye. The green sparks in his eyes were gone, leaving the dark emerald color.

“He’s going to have to learn to kill,” he said, deadly serious. “You can’t protect him forever. He’ll live hundreds of years longer than any of us, and I doubt anyone will want to take care of him after we’re all dead.”

“I don’t intend to protect him forever,” I said. “He would learn in his own time.”

“In human society, ‘his own time’ would have been never,” Jack responded. “He doesn’t _want_ to kill. I had to make sure he’d do it at least once.” 

“No, no, you didn’t,” I said, my voice an inch below a shout. “You love killing, and you wanted to make him love it, too!”

“I would never!” Jack flung an arm out, pointing at the closed door to Matt’s room. “I do _not_ love killing! And I would _never_ decide to put someone through what Matt did!”

“Then why!” I shouted, toe to toe with Jack. “Why did you tell Matt he was dead?”

“Because Mark told me to!”

The room fell silent, those five words hanging in the still air.

“He… he told you to trick Matt?” I said, my voice barely a whisper.

Jack nodded, looking down at the floor. “He said I couldn’t tell either of you, because you’d stop me. He said you care too much about Matt.”

I sat down on the couch, simultaneously shocked and angry. “I… ”

“I hated it, too,” Jack said softly, sitting cross-legged at my feet. “I didn’t want to do it. But I know it’s necessary.”

“We’ve gotta tell him,” I said. 

Jack shook his head slowly. “No. Don’t tell him. I… I don’t want him to hate us.”

“Jack, he’s not gonna hate us,” I said, scooting down and sitting on the floor with him. “We just… need to be careful what we say. Nothing about your instincts. Nothing about your or Mark’s motives. Just explain why you did it. I’ll be there.”

Jack looked towards Matt’s door with a small, nervous mumble. “He could kill me,” he said. “It hasn’t even been an hour since his meal, he’s gonna be pretty strong.”

“He won’t hurt you,” I said. “I’ll make sure of it.”

 

I knocked at Matt’s door, resting the heel of my hand against it. “Matt? Can I come in?”

“If you have to,” came the muffled reply.

I opened the door just enough to look inside. Matt was buried in a pile of blankets, the edge lifted just enough to stare at me.

I walked in slowly, Jack following, and sat down on the edge of the bed. “There’s, uh, there’s something we need to tell you,” I said.

Matt’s gaze shifted to Jack, and his eyes narrowed. “What do you want?” he growled.

“I-I just wanna explain,” Jack stammered, backing towards the doorway.

“I don’t wanna hear it,” Matt grumbled, pulling the blankets tighter over himself.

“Matt, just hear us out,” I said. “Jack was not trying to be cruel when he… didn’t finish the job. Mark told him to do it.”

Matt peered out from under the blanket. “Why… the _fuck…_ would he say that?”

Jack and I exchanged an uncomfortable look.

“Because he wants to make sure you can kill,” Jack said. “Not enjoy it, just that you can do it.”

“I don’t want to kill people,” Matt said.

“I know,” I said. “But –”

Matt refused to listen, turning over and grabbing more of the blankets. I sighed, getting up and heading out to the living room.

“Jack, you gonna be okay on your own tonight?” I said, my face in my hands.

“Of course, why?” Jack said quietly.

“I’m gonna go talk to Mark and clear this whole mess up,” I said. “I want you to stay here and keep an eye on Matt for me. Don’t bother him, just make sure he doesn’t leave.”

“What if I need to bother him?”

I glared at him. “Just keep him here, where he’ll be safe.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, guys, sorry about the short chapter. I’ve been really stuck for a while, for reasons that I don’t really want to talk about – for those of you who know me on Discord, you know why.   
> I will do my very best to have some actual substance in the next chapter. At this point I don’t know what it will be, but it’s gotta be better than this crap.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have recently become aware that there is a bit of a temporal incongruity – the last day seems to have lasted a matter of minutes to a few hours from when Matt and Nate woke up, to nighttime. I will fix this in editing – for now, just assume that they woke up in the afternoon. I’ll try and make it more obvious next time around.

I drove to the house, not bothering to lock up the car as I ran inside.

“I thought I’d see you back here tonight,” Mark said, meeting me in the hall.

“What the fuck were you thinking!” I shouted. “Do you have any idea how much your and Jack’s little stunt traumatized Matt?”

“He’ll get over it,” Mark said dismissively.

“I don’t care whether or not he gets over it! He doesn’t want to hurt anyone, and you tricked him into killing an innocent man!”

“That man wasn’t innocent,” Mark said. “He’s a bounty hunter. He’s killed over a hundred demons in the last ten years.”

“Why should that –”

“He was killing hybrids,” Mark said through clenched teeth. “People like you. I couldn’t pass up this opportunity to get rid of one of the biggest threats to us… to you.”

I was struck dumb by his statement. _He did this to protect me?_

“He would have died either way, though,” I said, pushing the thought aside. “So why did you tell Jack to do that?”

“Because Matthew needs to know what it feels like to kill someone,” Mark said. “I’m sure Jack has told you the same thing.”

“He’s never going to kill anyone,” I said.

“He will eventually,” Mark replied without missing a beat. “Nathan, I’m over a hundred years old. I’ve seen this many, many times. There is no such thing as a sinless vampire.”

I laughed sharply. “Sinless, eh?”

Mark was silent for a few moments. “I suppose I could have made a better choice of words. But you understand my meaning regardless; you can’t protect Matthew forever.”

“I can try.”

 -----

Jack lay on the couch, flipping through television channels. He didn’t need a remote; he could simply adjust the energy currents under his skin to manipulate the TV and find whatever he wanted.

He heard a shuffle and waved one hand at the TV, muting it. “Matt? You okay?”

No response.

Jack got up, walking to Matt’s room silently. A cool breeze drifted under the door; did Matt have a fan on?

He started to call Matt’s name again, but he was cut off by a rattle and slam of a window shutting.

Jack nearly broke down the door as he ran in, catching a glimpse of Matt’s red-and-blue plaid shirt as he disappeared down the sidewalk.

_Please don’t force me to shift,_ Jack silently asked, racing to the front door and swinging around to follow Matt.

The suburbs bordered a forest, which Matt made a beeline for. Jack paused, shifting as much as he dared and scanning the trees for anything with a heartbeat. There were the rabbits and birds he expected, as well as a few deer and nocturnal predators, and far away, a distinctly human signature leaning against a tree.

Jack shifted into a smaller, less threatening animal shape – a black fox – and ran towards the figure. _Matt!_ he wanted to shout. _What the fuck were you thinking, running off like this?_ But he figured that Matt wouldn’t take kindly to a talking fox.

He found Matt leaning against a tree and sat down a few feet away, making steady but not aggressive eye contact. Matt didn’t look away, cocking his head a little.

“I’m not sure how to respond to this,” he said, half to himself. “Are you… God, I don’t wanna say demon, cause I don’t want to be rude, but, I mean, if you are you get what I’m saying, right? This is awkward.”

_This guy is adorable,_ Jack thought as he paced a small circle to clear a place to shift back. He sat down, transforming back to his human form.

“So are you gonna come home, or should I bring you a deer or something?” he said as casually as he could.

“Y-You were a dog.”

Jack resisted his reflex to snark – that wouldn’t go over well in this situation. “A fox, to be exact,” he said. “So… coming home?”

“I don’t know,” Matt said, looking around and shifting his weight from foot to foot anxiously. “I feel like there’s something out here, something I need to find.”

“I don’t feel anything,” Jack said with a shrug. He looked up. “It’s a full moon, maybe that’s the issue. Just come back with me, and I’ll help you settle down. Maybe we can play Scrabble or something.” _Please let us play Scrabble. I want to learn to spell “indubitable”._

“Are you sure there’s nothing out here?” Matt said. He was starting to shake, and his eyes were turning yellow-gold as his instincts started to take over.

“Look, Matt, I’ve gotta get you back to the house _now_ , or else you might do something you regret,” Jack said, taking a firm hold of Matt’s wrist and starting to walk back towards the road.

Matt wouldn’t move; he fought to get his arm free, and he was nearly as strong as Jack, thanks to his meal less than an hour ago. He ripped his arm out of Jack’s grip, turning and heading away from the road as fast as his legs could carry him.

Jack growled under his breath, shifting back to his canine form. _You’d better hope I don’t catch you, cause I’ll rip you to shreds._

The next thing he knew, he was flat on his side with a snare around his hind leg. He struggled to bite through the wire futilely, howling in the strange, half-human voice that only a demon has. He didn’t dare shift back to unwind the cord; his human arms and legs were quite a lot bigger than his limbs were in this form, and he could end up with the snare loop embedded in his ankle.

“Gotcha,” a female voice laughed as a bag was thrown over him. “You and that vampire will be worth a pretty penny.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh my freaking GOD, why can’t I hit 1000 bloody words!? Nine hundred seventy-freaking-six! But at least I’m past the tough part.  
> Oh, and I’m not just completely stuck on all my writing, BTW. I’ve got two (three?) other stories I’m currently working on. One will be published soon, a second in a few weeks to a few months, and the third… well, that one’s quite special to me, so it’s gonna be a while. :) If you guys want a hint at that last one, I’ll post it in the notes to the next chapter, mkay? Mkay.


	11. Chapter 11

I parked the car out front of the house, heading inside. “Matt? Jack? All clear. Mark apologized.”

The house was silent.

I drew my knife, looking around. Either they were both asleep – not likely in the middle of the night – or they were missing or dead. There was no scent of human or demon blood, so I’d put my money on missing.

Once I’d checked every room in the house, I sheathed my knife, sitting down on the couch. It was definitely a full moon – I could feel my own bloodlust stirring, though not very strongly – so maybe Matt had been overwhelmed and run off, and Jack had gone after him. So in that case, I could just wait for them to come back; Matt couldn’t kill Jack, and Jack had the restraint not to kill Matt. Hopefully.

I wandered around the house for about an hour, idly going through Matt’s stuff – if he leaves his computer unlocked, then he should expect to be snooped – but I soon grew anxious. The two of them should have been back by now – Matt couldn’t have run that far before Jack caught him.

_Relax. They probably just went out for drinks._

Oh God. Bad choice of words.

I lay down on the couch, drumming my fingers on my chest.  _I can’t take this._

I put on my jacket and checked to make sure my knife wasn’t dull – it shouldn’t be, I just sharpened it a few days ago, but still – and headed out, searching for some kind of trail.

_Of course they had to go into the goddam forest. Agh, I hate the forest._

I picked my way through the trees,  searching for any sign of them. But surprisingly, there weren’t so much as footprints – only a few broken twigs. 

I froze as the astringent smell of demon blood hit me. Jack had been here, and he was hurt bad enough to bleed.

“Jack?” I called, pacing around the small area. Maybe he was hiding somewhere, too scared or confused to go home.

_Get out of here!_

Jack’s voice echoed inside my head, and I froze. He’d been “taught” never to use his psychic abilities, so if he was pushed to the point that he broke that rule…

I turned to run, only to be halted as someone grabbed me and forced me to the ground.  My attacker quickly tied a rag into my mouth, silencing me,  then bound my wrists behind my back. 

I struggled to get free as I was dragged to a black van and tossed inside.  I hit the metal floor hard, the breath driven out of my lungs. 

With no small effort, I rolled onto my back, slowly pushing myself to a sitting position. I didn’t seem to have a bloody nose, thankfully; I’d cracked my face against the floor when I was unceremoniously shoved in here.

I was too tense to shift, so I had to make do with my feeble human vision as I looked around. It was pitch-black – even the cracks along the doors had been covered. There was faint, rapid breathing, quite erratic – no, not erratic. Two creatures, out of sync.

A startled gasp, not quite a voice, to my right. I felt something soft and furry snuffling at my arm.

“Jack?” I tried to say, my voice muffled by the gag. The snuffling stopped, and the soft furry thing came around in front of me. It was a little black fox with a green stripe down its back. 

_Jack._ I twisted my hands to try and get them free, but it was no use; I only succeeded in shredding the skin around both wrists. Jack couldn’t help; he was muzzled with duct tape,  and his paws were bound so he could just barely walk, let alone attack anyone. 

I  leaned into the corner, feeling tears trickle down my face.  _Please, Mark, if you can hear me, please look for us._

\-----

I was pulled to my feet by an earth demon  and dragged out of the van. The demon blindfolded me, and I was taken up a few steps.  I nearly fell as the demon stopped me sharply,  and I heard footsteps in front of me. 

“This is him, eh?” a rough-ish male voice said. He gently tipped my head to one side, then the other, as if he was inspecting me. “I’ve only ever heard his voice. He’s… he’s quite attractive.” 

I growled,  baring my fangs. The man stepped back. 

“Hm, how did this happen?” he mused, speaking to no one. “Never mind it, I can always have his teeth pulled if they become a problem. Take him to his room.”

I  was pushed down the hall,  entering a dark room. The earth demon fastened a cold metal shackle around my left wrist, untying my hands, and removed my gag and blindfold just before darting out of the room and locking the door. 

I felt along the walls for a light switch, flicking it on. My cell was actually rather nice – large, comfortable bed, a dresser and vanity against one wall, private bathroom, the works. I even had a TV, set into the wall. The only thing that made it clear this was a prison was the bars on the window. 

I sat down on the bed, running my fingers under the steel cuff on my wrist. It certainly wasn’t uncomfortable, and not very heavy. Strangely, it wasn’t connected to any sort of chain,  and I thought for a moment that maybe there had been a mistake, until my fingers brushed across the raised dome of a polished opal. There was some sort of spell on it, and as I scanned the room, seeing opals around the door and window, I realized that I was chained here, whether I could see them or not. 

I  lay down, putting my hands behind my head.  _There’s no way they’ll ever willingly let me out. Not unless I make myself useless to them._

The most valuable thing about a siren is their voice. So, I decided, as long as I stay here I can never say a word. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guys, I'm so sorry for taking this long to write this chapter, I've just been horribly stuck. I have another project I'm going to start posting in a few days -- no later than the tenth. Here's a link to a teaser for it: https://imgur.com/a/WnVzBuE


	12. Chapter 12

I stood at the window, looking out at the rain. It had been so long since it had rained back home – months. It was almost physically painful to be so close, separated from the rain by a single sheet of glass. I slipped my hand between the bars, pressing my palm against the windowpane.

“I see you’re up,” said a familiar male voice. I didn’t turn around; I couldn’t stop watching the trails of water trickling down the glass.

“What’s your name?” the man said, more insistent.

I looked back over my shoulder, never taking my hand off the window.

“If you’re not going to tell me your name, I’m going to have to come up with one,” the man said, walking over to stand next to me. He had salt-and-pepper hair and a few wrinkles around his eyes and mouth – maybe fifty years old. If he was human, anyway; if he was an earth demon, like his henchman, he could be hundreds or even thousands of years old.

I remained silent, not willing to let him hear my voice.

“Okay then,” the man said after a few seconds. “Phantom. How do you like that name?”

I nodded slightly, taking my hand away from the glass and looking towards him.

“My name is Phillip,” the man said. He sat down in one of the chairs, gesturing to the one opposite him. I sat down as well, spinning the bracelet around my wrist.

“Now, Phantom, I know this may all be a bit disconcerting to you, but I only want you to be comfortable here,” Phillip said, in what I assume he thought was a soothing tone. “The binding charm is just to keep you safe. I want nothing but the best for you; after all, you were worth quite a lot of money.”

I growled quietly, looking back towards the window.

“No, don’t take it that way,” Phillip said, extending a hand towards me. “You’re not a slave, not by any means.”

_You bought me!_ I wanted to scream at him, but I kept my mouth shut. 

“I know you can speak,” Phillip said, seeing my expression. “If you want to say something, by all means, go ahead.” 

I  shook my head,  making a writing gesture on my palm. Phillip sighed, then left, coming back a few moments later with a pen and pad. 

I  thought for a moment, considering what would be the best choice of words for what I wanted to say, then scrawled out two words. 

_Fuck Off._

Phillip looked down at what I’d written thoughfully, then, almost faster than I could see, he backhanded me across the face.

“You’re not a slave,” he said, getting up, “but you’re not a guest, either. Until you learn your place, you’re not leaving this room.”

I pressed a hand to my bruised cheek, watching him as he stormed out of the room.  _In hindsight, that may not have been the best idea, but in the moment, it was totally worth it._

\-----

“Get back here, you fucking mutt!”

Three men were chasing Jack around the winding hallways underneath the Crow’s Nest. Jack was bruised and bloody, but  still shockingly hard to catch. 

O ne of the men grabbed him, only to let him go, howling in pain as  Jack’s skin crackled with electricity. He darted away, pressing his back against the wall as the men closed in on him. 

H e yelped as a needle sank into his back,  biting at the pinprick wound as he felt his head start to go light. The static suspended on his bristling fur started to dissipate, and his shape wavered between humanoid and canine  as he fell to his hands and knees, then onto his side, lying on the floor and panting. 

“Put it with the wolves,” the leader said, rubbing his bleeding arm. The other two nodded, picking Jack up by his wrists and ankles and carrying him down to one of the large cells.

They threw him through the door, and Jack hit the floor with a gasp. He slowly rolled onto his stomach, still flickering, and stood up, wincing at the lingering pain in his back.

The second he saw the creatures surrounding him, he froze, standing perfectly still. “H-Hello,” he said quietly, willing the drug to wear off.

About two dozen direwolves filled the room, each one wearing a heavy steel collar and chain attached to the wall. Jack’s hand went to his own neck, tracing the old scar from ear to ear – would he have to wear a chain, too? He shuddered at the memory.

One of the wolves, a young snow-white male, walked up to Jack as far as his chain would allow, and Jack closed the remaining distance. The wolf nosed at his hand, whining.

_How long have they been here?_ Jack thought, petting the wolf behind his ears. The other wolves seemed satisfied with his treatment of the male, and went back to their sleeping huddles. Jack followed the white wolf back to one of them, settling down in a small space. 

The wolf licked the blood off Jack’s face, then closed his eyes, muddling deeper into the pile of fur. As Jack drifted off to sleep, he saw the white wolf watching him intently, the wolf’s brilliant green eyes mirroring his own. 

\-----

I couldn’t sleep all that  day . I paced around my room, tried to figure out a way to hide the bruise, or just lay in bed staring at the ceiling, for hours on end. 

_Demons are status pieces in some human circles,_ I thought, my mind racing.  _And having a ‘tamed’ siren… that’s like a pet lion. So, what, am I gonna be paraded around or something? Or worse?_

The chaotic thoughts swirled in my mind, until I realized with a start that the sun was setting.  _He’s gonna figure out what I am, now that it’s night._

I resumed pacing, twisting the bracelet around my wrist till it rubbed the skin raw. I nearly jumped out of my skin when I heard a knock at the door. “ Phantom, are you awake?”

I went to the door, hesitantly turning the handle and opening it a crack. 

“Are you presentable?” Phillip said. 

I nodded, smoothing back my hair quickly. 

“Good,” he said. “Follow me.” 

I did so, keeping my head down anxiously. The bruise on my face had stopped hurting, but it was definitely standing out against my pale skin. 

Just before we reached the front door, Phillip turned back towards me, lifting my chin. “I thought you said you were presentable, Phantom. What’s this?” He traced the bruise with a fingertip. 

I shied away slightly, trying to summon a glamour. The discolored area crackled painlessly as the bruise was obscured, appearing to be pristine skin once more. 

Phillip nodded, heading out to a limousine in the driveway. 

Once we were inside, he handed me the notepad and pen. The page with my rude message had been torn out. 

_Where are we going?_ I wrote. 

“A nice little bettor’s club,” Phillip said. “You’ve probably never heard of it. Don’t worry, you don’t have to do anything except look good. And you’re very good at that.” 


	13. Chapter 13

The limo stopped outside of a large building, something between a warehouse and a barn. Phillip stepped out, gesturing for me to follow.

Without warning, he took my wrist, clipping a thin but sturdy cord to my silver wristband. “Just so you don’t run off,” he said. I rolled my eyes, making sure he wasn’t looking.

Two bouncers stood at either side of the door, eyeing me suspiciously.

“Got yourself a new pet, eh?” one of them said to Phillip.

“Oh, no, he’s much more valuable than the last one,” Phillip said. “A siren, can you believe that?”

“A siren,” the other said, nodding. “Then go ahead, he doesn’t merit a restraint cuff.”

“Thank you,” Phillip said as the two men opened the double doors. The two of us headed inside, the doors clanging shut heavily behind me.

Inside, the building was fairly spacious, with tables arrayed around a huge steel-barred cube, about twenty feet to a side and half below the floor. The setting was made to look like a high-end restaurant, but the faint, old bloodstains on the bars told me what this place really was. And the moment I saw the stylized birds on the napkins, my heart sank as I realized exactly where we were.

The Crow’s Nest was the most infamous demon fight club on the west coast – maybe even the entire continent. Tartarus, the Fallen Angel, Hellfire – all of them paled in comparison. Thousands of demons had lost their lives here to humans’ bloody wagers.

I sat down at a table, struggling not to panic. Phillip fastened the end of the cord to a ring at the center of the table, then left, heading to a betting table.

I looked around anxiously, feeling my aura flicker; it was rare that I couldn’t hold a human shape, but right now I was barely hanging on.

“Can I get you anything, a drink or some… oh.”

I looked up, seeing a slim waitress standing by the table. She looked extremely uncomfortable – she hadn’t realized I wasn’t human.

She fumbled with her notepad, trying to decide how to react to this startling discovery. After a few seconds she quickly walked away as fast as she could without drawing too much attention.

“Here we are,” Phillip said, sitting back down with a glass of bourbon. “I have to say, I’m quite excited for tonight. Two new arrivals.”

_Oh God… Oh, God, oh, God, what happened to Jack, what happened to Matt –_

“Phantom? Are you all right?” 

I  blinked to clear my head, swaying back a bit, and nodded. 

“Are you sure?” Phillip said, leaning forward a bit. “Do you need some air?” 

I  didn’t respond. I pressed my forehead to the table, trying to block out the terrifying thoughts flooding my mind.  _They’re fine. They’re fine. They’re fine. They’re fine…_

“Ladies and gentlemen!” The announcer’s voice blared over the loudspeakers. “Tonight, we have a very special arrival! It’s rare to catch an elemental, but we have one in the prime of health.” 

The room erupted in cheering as the door s in each side  of the pit slowly opened. 

\-----

Jack woke with a start as the door clattered open. The wolves moved back, except for the white one, who stayed near Jack protectively. 

“Get back, you mangy mutt,” the guard said, prodding at the white wolf with his shotgun. The wolf growled, but inched back as little as possible. 

Jack  was frozen, paralyzed with terror. If he’d had just a few more hours for the drugs to wear off, he’d be at full strength, and the shotgun wouldn’t do crap to him. 

“Come on,” the man growled, grabbing Jack by the upper arm. He pulled the collar of Jack’s shirt down, jabbing a needle into the gap between neck and shoulder. 

\-----

I stared down into the pit, terrified of what was going to come through those doors. I could sense Matt approaching, and the announcer’s description could only mean Jack, but I was still begging the universe to spare them this fate. Maybe Matt was just on a nearby route to the pit, and wasn’t actually going to it. Maybe they’d caught another elemental. 

But the second the young vampire was shoved into the ring, my heart just about stopped. He had clearly gotten the shit beaten out of him, with bruises all over his face and arms, and his clothes ripped nearly off of him, but he was unmistakable. 

He jumped to his feet, snarling and looking around for the nearest meal. He was starving, and he was pissed. 

_Please tell me they’re not sending Jack against him,_ I silently pleaded. Matt was pretty powerful, given yesterday had been a full moon, but Jack was an elemental any day. He was a goddam force of nature. And unless he was up against another elemental, he was nigh unbeatable. 

The hair on my arms stood on end as the static in the air grew to near-electrocution levels, and Jack barged through the opposite door, practically glowing green  with neon-glowing eyes. 

He blitzed around the cage, racing from corner to corner in a crackling blur. Any time he was near a table, his arm would shoot through the bars, grabbing at anyone in his field of vision regardless of distance. 

“He’s a feisty one, isn’t he?” the announcer said with a laughing tone, even as Jack howled brokenly with fear and rage. I wanted to jump into the pit and catch him and never let him go, sing him to sleep, but I’d be dead by the time I stood up, what with the security here. And if the guards didn’t kill me, Jack or Matt would, whether they intended to or not. 

_Please, Mark… please find us,_ I begged, knowing full well no one heard me. 


	14. Chapter 14

Jack skidded to a halt, leaning against the concrete wall. His eyes were locked on Matt, and he licked his lips almost imperceptibly before barreling towards him.

Matt sidestepped him, grabbing him by the neck and throwing him to the ground before pouncing on top of him and sinking his fangs into Jack’s shoulder. Jack howled and pushed Matt off of him, tearing a chunk of his shoulder away in the process.

Matt spit out black blood, wiping his mouth and lunging at Jack again. Jack darted away, half-shifting and swinging one clawed hand at Matt’s back. The long red talons sliced into Matt’s skin, but he didn’t seem to feel it.

“It’s quite a scene,” Phillip said, his words snapping me out of my horrified trance. I looked up, seeing the hint of excitement on his face. He raised an eyebrow when I didn’t mirror it. “What? I thought demons liked bloodshed.”

Shaking with pent-up fury, I quietly took a napkin and pencil, writing my exact thoughts on it.

_The chaos demon’s name is Jack. The vampire is Matthew. The former is my adopted brother, and I turned the latter just four days ago. So if you really think I enjoy seeing them brutalize each other for your entertainment, then you’re sadly wrong._

Phillip read all this in silence, then set the napkin down, unwilling to meet my eyes. “I…”

“My money’s on the green one,” a familiar voice interjected. I looked back over my shoulder, not wanting to believe my ears. 

“Ah, Damien,” Phillip said, standing up. He shook Mark’s hand warmly, then tapped my shoulder. “Stand up, Phantom, wouldn’t want to be rude.”

I  stood, keeping my head down and fighting the urge to run to Mark. 

“Phantom,” Mark said, lifting my chin gently. “I’ve been looking for you.”

“You’re not getting him,” Phillip said. “I paid 700 grand for him, I’m not giving him up.” 

M ark let go of my chin, sitting back down at his table. “If the chaos wins, then I get Phantom.” 

“And if he loses?”

Mark said nothing, his eyes fixed on the fight. I looked back into the pit and immediately wished I hadn’t.

Jack had fully shifted to his animal form, a wolf like creature the size of a horse, and had Matt pinned to the floor. Matt was barely moving, the floor stained with red and black bloodstains. 

Mark silently stood, raising his hand and holding it just a few inches away from the bars. His glamour had vanished, revealing his red-flecked hair and ruby eyes.

His hand started to glow white-hot, and a dense fireball shot out, bursting like a water balloon when it collided with the bars. When the light faded, I saw a gaping hole in the cage, the bars snapped and bent back like twigs.

Jack jumped at the sound, his green-black fur bristling.  Mark started to climb down into the cage, but one of the guards yanked him back by his coat, slamming him against the table. 

I did a quick scan of the emotion in the room, trying to decide what to do.  _Hokay, I’m getting out of here,_ I decided, looking for the door.  The second I tried to go more than a few steps away from the table,  though, the cuff around my wrist pulled me back. 

Panicking, I tried to unlatch it, but my hands were shaking so badly that I couldn’t get a grip on it. I was thrown to the ground suddenly, my arm twisting under me as the table tipped over and rolled. I felt my arm crack, but the tether snapped at the same time, and I was able to get up.

I darted between people in what was rapidly escalating into a bar brawl, reaching the door in a matter of seconds.  I dove through the half-open door, relieved to find that the bouncers had gone inside to try and break up the fight. 

Falling to the ground, I  bit back a cry as pain shot through my arm. It was definitely broken, that’s for sure, but it was nothing a big meal and a long swim wouldn’t heal, as long as I was careful. 

I shakily stood up, backing away from the building. Smoke was drifting out of a few windows, and angry shouts were turning to pained screams.

I watched as the flames slowly climbed the walls, and just as the windows started to crack from the heat, Mark slowly walked out, carrying Jack and limping slightly.

He wrapped an arm around my shoulders, pulling me into an embrace. I buried my face in his shoulder, sobbing.

“It’s gonna be okay,” he said softly. “We’re fine.”

I smoothed back Jack’s messy, blood-matted hair, desperately wishing for him to forget all of this when he woke up.

“What about… what about Matt?” I said, my voice barely above a whisper.

Mark shook his head sadly. “By the time I got into the cage, he had already disappeared. I couldn’t find him anywhere. I’m sorry, Nathan.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for a short one. I intended to get this uploaded on Tuesday, but I had no internet and I literally just got home a half hour ago (midnight) so here it is. Weekly updates from now on, unless you guys riot or something.


	15. Chapter 15

_Where am I?_

Matt sat up shakily, wiping dirt and blood from his face. He was covered in cuts and bruises, the smell of blood and smoke filling the air around him.

He tried to stand up, but his leg gave out, and he fell to the ground, crying out in pain. _Nate! Where are you!?_

He dragged himself upright, hanging onto the rough, cracked brick wall. “Is… Is anyone there?” he coughed, squeezing his eyes shut against the stinging smoke.

No response. He didn’t expect there to be one, but the utter silence was no less crushing.

Limping badly, he made his way along the wall, biting his lip hard enough to bleed every time his bare feet brushed over smoldering wood. He grabbed onto a handle, ignoring the painful heat of the metal, and yanked the charred door off its hinges, falling onto the cool concrete floor.

He lay there, sobbing in relief as the cold stone soothed some of the burns. But his relief was short-lived as a strange, bitter smell hit him.

He rolled onto his side, unwilling to get up to look around. From the floor he could see through a few of the barred doors. What he saw nearly made him sick.

Hundreds of demons, every kind imaginable – all dead or dying. Some still moved, though feebly, but the vast majority lay still.

Matt shut his eyes as he stood, trying not to think about what had happened to them. He shuffled down the corridor, painfully aware of the bittersweet scent of fresh blood filling the air. How long had it been since he’d had a meal – a day? Two? The knot in his stomach said longer.

He started walking up an incline, and he hesitantly opened his eyes – he was no longer in the fight club, but an abandoned parking garage. The reek of smoke was nearly gone, now that he was far enough away from the heart of the fire.

“Ah, goddamit!”

The sharp tone caught his attention, followed by an intoxicating scent. Someone had cut themselves quite badly. And he could smell it.

\-----

“I’ve gotta find him,” I said, pacing back and forth in the living room. Jack was fast asleep in his room, heavily bandaged from the fight, while Mark sat on the couch, tending to his own wounds.

“I know,” Mark said. “I’ll spread the word in the morning. For now, we’ve all got to get some rest.”

“No, we need to find him _now_ ,” I snapped. “He could be trapped there, praying for someone to find him. I – I can’t even imagine the pain he’s in right now. Jack nearly killed him.”

Mark sighed, stretching his arm to test the bandages around his shoulder. “I know you’re scared for Matthew,” he said. “But right now, there’s nothing either of us can do.”

I sat down heavily in one of the chairs, growling under my breath. “There’s gotta be something. Wait a minute – what if we tracked him down psychically?”

“No,” Mark said. “We are not exploiting Jack’s telepathy. I don’t want to know what’s going on inside his mind right now, and I don’t want to knock anything loose.”

“Not Jack’s telepathy,” I said. “Mine.”

\-----

“Are you sure about this?” Mark said. “Wrath is a hell of a drug, and it’s gonna be in Matthew’s system for at least another day. Do you really want to go into his mind?”

“If I start spazzing out, then just hold me down,” I said, settling down and closing my eyes. Mark pressed his fingertips to my temples, and in an instant the chaotic tangle of thoughts was slowed to nothing, allowing me to focus entirely on finding Matthew.

\-----

Matt searched quietly for the source of the cry, focusing in on a group of teenage boys with bikes. One of them was clutching his arm, and red dripped through his fingers.

A single word flashed through Matt’s mind – _food._ His canines grew to points, and the pain from his wounds vanished.

\-----

“He’s excited,” I said, my eyes still closed. “But he doesn’t want to be.”

“Can you see him?” Mark asked quietly.

“No… I see what he sees, though,” I replied. “There’s a streetsign – Fourth and Amber. That’s just a couple blocks from the Crow’s Nest.”

“Does he see anything else?” Mark asked. “Can you hear anything?”

“No sound,” I said. “There’s five teenagers.”

My breath hitched as I realized what was about to happen. “No… no, please…”

\-----

Matt walked towards the group as steadily as he could, sticking to the shadows. One boy broke away from the group, heading towards a nearby tree. _He’s alone – perfect._

He waited until he was sure he wasn’t spotted, then put every ounce of energy into a flat sprint, tackling the teen and dragging him away.

He pinned him to the ground, practically savoring the look of terror in the young man’s eyes, and sank his teeth into the teen’s neck. Blood surged into his mouth, sending a jolt of energy through him with every fading heartbeat. The bloody gashes covering him closed up seamlessly, without so much as a white scar, and his many fractures slowly started to knit back together.

He let go of the now-dead teen, laughing out loud with the pure energy coursing through him.

\-----

“No!” I jolted upright, fighting to free myself from Mark’s grip.

“Settle down,” he said, tightening his hold on me. “I don’t want you to hurt yourself.”

“Matthew!” I howled, sobbing. Mark held me tight, and I cried into his shoulder, my voice going hoarse.

“We’re gonna be okay,” Mark said, rubbing my back. “We know where he is now.”

“You’ve gotta find him,” I bawled, my voice breaking. “He doesn’t know what he’s doing, he can’t. I promised him he’d never have to kill anyone.”

“Calm down,” Mark said. “I’m not waiting until the morning. I’m going to call right now.”

“Thank you, thank you so much,” I said, exhausted.

“Just rest for a while, and this will all be sorted out by the time you wake up,” Mark said, picking me up. He carried me back to my room, putting me to bed like he used to do when I was much, much younger.

He lightly kissed my forehead as he tucked me in, then left as I drifted off to sleep.

\-----

Mark paced back and forth in the living room, racking his brain for a decision. _There must be some other option._

But there wasn’t. He’d known for almost two decades there wasn’t.

He dialed one of his closest friends, praying that he wouldn’t pick up.

“ _Hello?”_

Dammit. “Is this Tyler Balaur?”

“ _Who’s asking?”_ said the man on the other end.

“Tyler, it’s Mark.”

“ _Ah, how have you been, Mark? It’s been, what, ten years?”_

“I didn’t call to catch up,” Mark said, his heart sinking like a stone. “I… I have some bad news.”

“ _What’s happened?”_ Tyler asked, concern in his tone. _“Are Nathan and Jack all right?”_

“No, in fact, that’s why I called,” Mark said. “A few days ago, somehow Nathan sired a vampire. That vampire has now killed a human and been the direct cause of another’s death, and he’s loose in the city with a fight-club dose of Wrath in his veins. I…” Mark rubbed his forehead, silently cursing himself for what he was about to do. “I need you to catch him.”

“ _Mark… you can’t catch someone on that kind of a bender,”_ Tyler said after a long few seconds. _“You can't catch them alive, anyway.”_

“I know,” Mark said. “I hate this whole debacle, too. But I don’t have a choice; the vampire cannot be allowed to roam free until the Wrath wears off, if it ever does. Dozens of people could die. Do whatever it takes – just get him under control.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'M SORRY GUYS


	16. Chapter 16

I swam laps in the public pool, barely leaving any ripples as I flowed through the water. It was night, and the pool was closed – luckily, I could pick locks, and did so on a regular basis to get in here. At least a few times a month, I’d break in to take a quiet swim and relax.

It had been a day or two since Matt had disappeared. Jack was almost fully healed, except for a few of the biggest injuries, and I was nearly back to perfect health.

Jack sat by the edge of the pool, trailing his feet in the water. “You think Matt will come through here?” he said, watching me like an owl.

I treaded water a few yards away, running my fingers through my hair. “You never know. I’m his sire, so he might have the same attraction to water that I have. Of course, if he does, then he’s probably heading straight for the ocean.”

Jack shrugged. “Eh, you never know. Can I come in?”

“Sure, just don’t electrocute me,” I said, swimming away. Jack stood up, backing up to the wall, then took a running jump into the water, cannonballing in almost five feet from the edge. He swam just below the surface, the energy channels on his skin bubbling a little, and surfaced in front of me.

“Race you to the other end,” he said, swimming with all his might. I rolled my eyes, shifting to my demon form and swimming after him. At first, I intended to outrace him, but then another idea hit me.

I dropped back a bit, watching as Jack’s determined kicks became excited flailing as he reached the end and “won”. Then, silently, I swam towards him. _Cue Jaws music…_

I grabbed his ankles, dragging him down to the bottom of the pool. He shrieked, first in terror, then in anger, and kicked at me as hard as he could. I let go of his feet, wrapping my arms around his waist and sinking to the pool floor with him in tow.

“Let me go, you fucker!” he shouted, his voice rising in bubbles to the surface. I did as he demanded; regardless of his elemental status, he could still drown, and his lung capacity wasn’t much more than he’d already used up.

Jack raced to the surface, flopping out of the pool and coughing up mouthfuls of water. I floated at the pool’s edge, watching him with concern.

“I can’t breathe underwater, you bastard,” he said, wheezing.

“Sorry,” I mumbled, muting the musical tone in my voice.

“You’d better be sorry,” Jack spat, getting up and jolting the water off his skin. “I’m going home.” He put his clothes back on and disappeared in a green flash.

_Well, that went wonderfully._ I dove back beneath the surface, my neck tickling as my gills opened, and swam a few more laps before I was interrupted. 

“I miss you.”

I surfaced, looking around for the source of the words. Standing by the pool was none other than a very bloody and battered Matthew.

I shifted back, treading water. “Matt, what are you doing here?” I asked, hesitantly swimming closer.

“Ever since I broke out of the fight club, I’ve been trying to find you,” Matt said, sitting cross-legged at the edge of the pool. “They did something to me, something that made me a… a monster. I knew you could fix it. I don’t know how, but I know you can.” He wiped his eyes on his sleeve, drying unshed tears. “Please help me. I don’t want to be like this. I don’t want to have these horrible urges to kill people.”

I swam up to him, holding his hands. “I promise, I’ll do everything I can to help you, but I have to know… how many people have you hurt?”

Matt shook his head, struggling not to cry. “Please don’t ask me that, I don’t – I don’t want to remember.”

“I’m sorry,” I said. “Just give me a ballpark estimate, you don’t have to count specifics.”

Matt sniffled, unable to meet my eyes. “N-Nine.”

_Nine people. And I promised he’d never kill a single one._ “Okay, Matthew, uh, just stay calm,” I said. “Do you want to come into the water with me?” 

Matt nodded, slipping off his ripped jeans and shirt. Underneath, he was heavily scarred, with a few fresher wounds. I helped him stay above the surface, holding onto him.

“I’m scared,” he whispered, burying his nose in my shoulder. “I’m so scared, Nathan.”

“I know,” I said. “Just look at me.”

Matt slowly looked up at me, his gold eyes filled with tears. His eyes were bloodshot, with patches of red in the sclera where blood vessels had burst. Wrath was incredibly powerful, I knew that much, but I’d never actually seen its effects.

“Let’s get you cleaned up first,” I said, running my fingers through his matted hair. Bits of dried blood came away, disappearing into the water.

Soon, most of the mess was gone. I ran my hands over the bruises covering Matt’s skin – if I couldn’t heal him, then I could at least dull the pain a bit.

Matt grabbed my wrist, lifting my hands away. His eyes flickered gold, but he didn’t bite, no matter how much I knew he wanted to.

“What is it?” I said.

Matt let go of my hand, hugging me. “What’s gonna happen to me?” he whispered, his face inches from mine.

I didn’t want to answer; I knew exactly what would happen if anyone found out what he’d done. “Don’t worry about that,” I said, kissing him lightly on the neck. “We’re gonna be fine. I promise.”

Matt kissed me back, pulling me closer. “Nate… mm, I need this…”

I smiled, pushing him back against the side of the pool. “I know, baby, I know.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, this was awkward to write...


	17. Chapter 17

I lay at the bottom of the pool, blissfully watching the ripples at the surface. Matt was asleep, his arm hanging over the edge into the water.

_That was incredible._

But it had to end sometime – the pool would be opening in a few hours, and Matt and I would have to be gone well before then.

I swam to the surface, running my fingers down Matt’s back. His eyes fluttered open, and he smiled, kissing me on the cheek. “Hey.”

“We should get going soon,” I said. “I’ll talk to Mark and ask him if you can come stay with us.”

“What if he says no?” Matt asked, getting up. He couldn’t wear his old clothes – they were filthy, and practically falling apart, so he grabbed an extra uniform from one of the lockers, turning it inside out to hide any logos.

“Then we’ll figure something out,” I said. “Come on, let’s get out of here.”

\-----

As the two of us walked back home, I started to notice something off – there were very few animals, and those that were here watched us intently, chattering to one another as we passed.

_Someone is looking for us._

“Keep your head down,” I said to Matt, subtly moving between him and the trees lining the road.

\-----

I ran up the steps to Mark’s door, resisting the urge to run in and beg him to protect Matt. I pressed my ear to the door, listening for whatever I could find out.

“… aren’t going to be lenient on either of them, I can tell you that much. One a month, no more. That’s beaten into every vampire’s head the day they’re turned.”

“I know what we were supposed to tell him. I just… never got the chance.”

“That doesn’t matter to the courts. Both Nathan and Matthew will go on trial for this, and maybe Jack, too – he was on the first hunt with them.”

I stepped away from the door, trying not to panic in front of Matt. “Okay, on to plan B,” I said. “Get in the car.”

“Where are we going?” Matt asked, going to the passenger side door.

“Somewhere no one will be able to find us,” I said, starting the car and heading off as fast as I could.

\-----

By the time we got to our destination, Matt was asleep, his head on my shoulder.

_Do I wake him, or do I carry him?_

… _I can’t carry him. He’s huge._

I gently shook his shoulder, then more insistently. Finally I had to physically shove him off of me – that worked.

“What what that for?” he whined, swatting my shoulder.

“We’re here,” I said. “Come on.”

I stepped out of the car, going around to Matt’s side to help him out. He yawned, stretching in the cool night air.

“Why aren’t we just driving?” he said, pointing up the gravel road. “That’s so far…”

I pulled him forward until his hand passed through the invisible barrier. “That’s why,” I said as he “touched” the tense field. “This field shuts down any active electronics and blocks signals from passing through – smartphones have to be turned off, and cars shut down on contact. Landlines are the only thing that gets through.”

“Oh,” Matt lowered his hand, hesitantly stepping through the field. “Feels weird.”

“You get used to it,” I said, following.

\-----

A man sat on the front steps with a shotgun on the ground next to him. He would occasionally pass a piece of food to a pair of sparrows on the railing next to him.

“Hey, Andrew!” I called, waving to him. He waved back, getting up and coming to meet us.

“Who’s that?” Matt asked as we approached.

“Andrew is an old friend of Mark’s,” I said. “They met, oh, a couple decades before I came along, and they’re practically brothers.”

“Hey, Nate,” Andrew said, hugging me. “And who’s this?”

“Uh, hi, I’m Matthew,” Matt said timidly.

“Nice to meet you, Matthew,” Andrew said, shaking his hand. “You hungry?”

Matt glanced over at me. “It’s all right,” I said. “I told him what you are.”

“Yep, I made sure to resupply,” Andrew said, nodding. “There’s six pints of fresh blood in the fridge.”

“Thank you,” Matt said, nodding briefly before heading inside.

Andrew and I went to the porch, sitting down on the steps.

“Thank you so much for doing this on such short notice,” I said.

“It’s what I’m here for,” Andrew replied. “It’s not called a sanctuary for branding.”

“And you don’t have a problem with –”

“He’s clearly sober now,” Andrew said. “And from what you told me, he didn’t want any part of the situation. But considering how fast he sobered up…” Andrew sighed. “I know what you did to fix that, Nathan. And I’m sure Mark will figure it out soon enough. If he was mad before, he’ll be murderous when he finds out.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you want more of this story, then you're in luck! The sequel, "Golden Eyes", should be out in a few days to a few weeks -- at this rate, it might just be Sunday or Monday. In the meantime, check out my new sci-fi story, "Caurinus". It's a more long-term story -- I plan for it to be a full-length novel -- but it's not slow by any means. 
> 
> Comment with your favorite scene so far, and what you're hoping to see in the future! (I am planning to write some oneshots in this universe, so you never know what I'll use...)


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